Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-04-28
THE OHIO DYNAMITERS.
Cause of the Attempt to Blow Up the He
ervoir-MOre Troops.

tFNOlT-bOTe
TOLEDO, O., April 27.-At 1890 O'Clock
this morning the remaining Toledo troops
were ordered TO proceed at once TO Pauld-
ing county, the scene of the riOtOus dem
onstratlOns. The lawlcsS attempt to de
stroy the Paulding County reservoir is the
result of discomfort on the part of the
people at the maintenance of n practically
disuSed section of the canal
The Miami and Erie Canal runs from
Toledo to Cincinnati At the town OF
Junction, Paulding county, the Wabash
and Erie Canal joins it, The latter origin
ally extended through Indiana, but that
State years ago abandoned it, and since
the Ohio section, from function to the
State line, eighteen miles, has been prac-
tically useless, except for rafting timber
to Defiance. Just east Of Antwerp,
Paulding County, is the reservoir in
dispute, covering two thousand acres of
ground. 1t WAS originally the valley of
a small stream, AMI was damned and
diked 10 make reservoir. On Monday
night band of some two hundred men,
residents Of the county, proceeded to the
| lower end of the reservoir, captured the
guards, who have been there since the at
| tempt at destruction few weeks ago, and
proceeded systematically to destroy it.
| Two locks were.
| BLOWN Up WITH DYNAMITE,
and the bulkhead at the lower end of the
reservoir. The building occupied by the
gatekeeper was burned. The band worked
all night cutting the dikes with pick and
spade. The volume of water is thus large
| ~ reduced, though the reservoir is not en-
| tirely drained. The amount Of damage is
estimated at So, 900. The people Of that
county are substantially unit in desiring
the destruction of the reservoir, because it
covers vast area of fine farming land and
renders the entire region sickly, and will
give no information as to the men con
cerned in the outrage.
Soon after the arrival of the militia at
Cecil, last night, one Of the reservoir
guards, who had been detained by the mob
aud had inst come from the reservoir four
miles distant, reported four heavy eXplo-
sions on the lire OF the reservoir since
nightf.ill. General AXliHe at once began
preparations for a raid on the mob and a
heavy capture is expected soon.
From one of the guards at the reservoir
the following
PARTICULARS
were obtained: He said there were four
guards on the reservoir bank ever since
the agitation against the maintenance OF
the canal began. About ten o'clock Mon
day night they were suddenly surrounded
by body of 400 men, taken captiyes and
disarmed, A portion of the mob at
once went to work with spades cut
ting the reservoir banks, while the re-
mainder of the crowd started down to-
wards the locks. Arriving at one near the
bulkhead, they saturated the lock with
coal oil and set il on fire. The lock keep
er's house was next fired. The mob then
went down five miles further, and placing
heavy charge Of dynamite under the
gates blew them ont. The third lock, near
the junction Of the Wabash and Erie can
ais, they blew out bodily. This completed
the wreck and they returned to the reser-
voir, where they all worked on the hanks
until o'clock.
A dispatch from Defiance says that Fred
Reeves, one Of the militiamen from Toledo,
who went to guard the reservoir and State
and property in Paulding county, accident
ally shot and killed himselfwhile on guard
duty, about midnight